Chapter 110: Creak
Senior Brother Wu froze for a moment, then a rare look of approval crossed his cold face. He turned to whisper a few words with sound transmission to Senior Brother Yu, who responded with a thumbs-up in Li Yan’s direction.
The two had already agreed beforehand, since they ended up on this team, it was only wise to establish a good relationship with Li Yan. After all, the sole Foundation Establishment leader was none other than Little Bamboo Peak’s Gong Chenying.
They were not part of Wang Tian’s direct lineage and thus held no interest in following his provocations. Wu's earlier question was merely a way to close the distance between them and Li Yan. What surprised them was that Li Yan had offered a definite and thoughtful answer.
On reflection, Wu realized the reasoning was obvious, everyone might have suspected it but in such a tense atmosphere, few could keep their minds clear enough to articulate it.
Senior Brother Wu’s full name was Wu Shixi. As for the cultivator surnamed Yu, his name was Yu Yiyong, because he refused to accept
the saying ‘Scholars are utterly useless’, instead implying that he is at least somewhat useful.
At that moment, Gong Chenying had arrived at the first storefront.
Under the dim sky, the fabric shop on the left stood with its doors wide open. From outside, one could see a few bolts of brightly colored cloth neatly arranged on the counter, with even more stored in wooden cubbyholes behind it.
Though the countertop held a light layer of dust, the few pieces of vibrant fabric atop it looked untouched, immaculately clean.
The shop was eerily empty, and the dull twilight streaming in from the sky above cast long shadows that made even the softest footsteps feel jarring, as if the silence itself rejected intruders.
Gong Chenying glanced around and stepped inside.
In that instant, a flash of azure light bloomed from her hand as a long azure halberd appeared. Even with her tall slender figure, the weapon still looked nearly oversized in her grip.
Clad in a dark green robe that accentuated her narrow waist and shapely hips, Gong Chenying exuded commanding strength. On her feet were boots crafted from the hide of some unknown demon beast. As she stepped onto the wooden floor, a faint imprint formed in the dust below.
Her keen eyes swept across the shop, but nothing seemed amiss. Still, when her gaze fell on the spotless cloth atop the counter, a strange sense of dissonance stirred within her.
The entire shop was coated in a fine layer of dust except for those few pristine bolts of fabric.
She slowly extended the halberd, its tip lifting one of the clean cloths. As the fabric unfurled, it let out a faint rustle, like an old man whispering with a dying breath.
Outside the shop, the rest of the cultivators were split into squads, watching the surrounding area with vigilance.
Though the lighting inside the fabric shop was dim, when Gong Chenying raised the cloth with her halberd, she noticed no dust falling from it. In contrast, the floor and shelves everywhere else bore a thick, undisturbed coating.
Her curiosity piqued, she moved to bring the fabric closer for inspection. As her foot shifted just half an inch forward-
Creak!
A sharp sound echoed beneath her feet.
At that exact moment, a voice rang out from outside the shop:
“Sixth Senior Sister, retreat!”
A sudden jolt of danger slammed into Gong Chenying’s chest. Without hesitation, she pushed off the floor, her back arching high like a startled panther. She shot toward the door in a blur.
But just then, the cloth on her halberd twisted like a living thing, coiling tightly around it with unnatural force.
The other bolts of brightly colored fabric on the counter also sprang to life, unfurling with a flurry like grinning demonic faces, letting out a chorus of eerie giggles “Hehehe…” as they lunged toward her.
Behind the counter, even more fabrics exploded outward from their wooden compartments. Their garish floral patterns shimmered like painted nightmares as they emitted a strangled, choking “hrrrk hrrrk” and rushed to seal the walls and windows, cutting off her escape.
With a loud bang, the shop’s door slammed shut of its own accord.
As Gong Chenying stomped down to leap, the wooden plank beneath her gave not a splintering crack, but instead a sharper, deeper creak, and then a black hole yawned open beneath her feet, tugging her downward.
Her spiritual energy surged. The floating dust in the shop burst into a flurry, spiraling under the dim light toward the center of the room, forming a hazy human figure that was rapidly solidifying.
A chilling premonition gripped Gong Chenying’s heart. If that dust coalesced into a true form, her chances of escaping would drop to near zero.
In a flash of instinct, she shifted her stance, left hand gripping the halberd single-handedly, spiritual power roaring through her meridians. Azure light blazed from the weapon, and with a sharp tearing sound, the ensnaring cloth exploded into shreds.
At the same moment, she struck out with her right palm toward the counter a few feet ahead.
Boom!
The impact shattered the counter into splinters. The recoil launched her high into the air, tearing her free of the black hole’s pull.
Outside the shop, while Gong Chenying was inside, the rest of the group kept strict formation, scanning for threats. Li Yan remained toward the rear of his squad, watching quietly. He glanced behind him once more, puzzled. There was still no sign of that so-called monstrous black shadow.
“Could the trial have already begun, and we just haven't noticed?”
He extended his divine sense in all directions and at that moment, the five spirit-force reservoirs within his body stirred even more intensely than they had outside the valley, especially the one tied to earth.
Though it was usually the fourth in rank behind fire, water, and wind, this time, the earth spirit-energy surged with unprecedented vigor, as if it had encountered something immensely exciting…
At the same moment, Li Yan sensed that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within his divine sense had become unusually active. He could even perceive that this energy was aligned in the order of the Five Elements, except earth-attribute spiritual energy had surged to the dominant position.
Just as he was about to circulate the Guishui True Scripture to probe further, a crisp "creak" echoed in the still air. Suddenly, the earth-attributed energy in his divine sense grew violent, as if it intended to devour the other four elements.
In the next instant, the Guishui True Scripture in his body ran amok, surging uncontrollably through his meridians. Li Yan’s heart skipped a beat, alarmed by the phenomenon and he quickly traced the source of this turmoil, it was that fabric shop to the side!
Without hesitation, he turned his head and shouted loudly, “Sixth Senior Sister, retreat!”
A deafening boom erupted as the shop’s door was shattered from within, blown apart into splinters that whistled through the air like knives. The nearby Qi Condensation disciples hastily reinforced their protective lights to block the flying debris.
Through the demolished doorway, a figure shot out like a bolt of lightning. The reason it was only described as "humanoid" was because the entire figure was wrapped in fluttering strips of cloth.
As the crowd looked on in shock, unsure of what to do, the fabric suddenly burst apart with a ripping sound, scattering in all directions like rain. A figure emerged from the center of the chaos, wielding a long halberd glowing with pulsing azure light, it was none other than Gong Chenying.
“Move! I’ll cover the rear!”
Her crisp command cut through the air as she swept her gaze over the group. Seeing they were all safe, she immediately struck with her halberd. A ten-zhang-long arc of brilliant azure light slashed toward the fabric shop like divine judgment.
The Qi Condensation disciples didn’t hesitate. Dividing into six groups, they each formed miniature defensive formations and surged forward along the street.
The sky-rending azure arc fell like a blade from the heavens. With a thunderous crash, it split the fabric shop in two. Several buildings behind it crumbled into dust.
Gong Chenying didn’t stop to check the aftermath. She dragged her halberd behind her, sparks flying across the stone-paved street, as she dashed after the others.
Barely three breaths after the group fled, a figure slowly stepped out from the cloud of dust that once was the fabric shop.
This figure stood dozens of zhang tall, towering over the street. Its body was semi-transparent, shrouded in mist, its face indistinct. It let out a low, rumbling growl and spread its arms wide like a pair of bat wings stretching open.
At once, wisps of black mist began to rise from its arms, rapidly thickening. Within the span of a breath, half the sky behind the figure turned pitch black. The dim street was now blanketed in an enormous shadow that loomed at the street’s entrance.
The figure then swept its massive arms forward like flapping wings. The immense shadow overhead surged forth, darkening half the sky as it rushed toward the entire street like a falling curtain.
At the same time, as Li Yan and the others ran down the street, a sharp "creak" again echoed in his ears. His spiritual power boiled anew. He turned to look, just in time to see a butcher’s chopping block outside a side shop wobble slightly, as though stirred by wind.
His heart sank. “Not good!”
Before anyone could respond, the previously silent street suddenly erupted with whooshing sounds like a hailstorm. From both sides of the street, shop after shop seemed to come alive, unleashing a wild barrage.
From the blacksmith’s shop, countless weapons both finished and half-forged along with slabs of fine steel burst through the walls. From the steamed bun shop, even the steamer baskets and buns themselves shot out, cloaked in a sinister black-yellow glow. From the coffin shop, massive lid planks blasted out first, followed by heavy wooden coffins that crashed through the air with ominous hums.
In an instant, the entire street resembled a war zone. All manner of objects wrapped in ghostly black-yellow light hurtled toward the fleeing cultivators. None of them mistook these for mere items anymore, the eerie glow alone screamed danger.
The disciples quickly activated their protective auras and unleashed their spirit artifacts and treasures. Fortunately, they had already formed six-man defense formations. Though disheveled, they managed to hold their ground for the moment.
Seeing this, Gong Chenying shouted sharply:
“Three teams to the left, three to the right! Don’t get bogged down, push forward!”
With that, she leapt into the air but the moment she rose, her body faltered mid-flight. Azure light flared wildly around her as she struggled to regain balance.
Her eyes narrowed with alarm. The moment she took off, she felt an immense pressure from above. Only by using sixty percent of her power had she managed to rise a little over two zhang.
“There’s a flight-restriction formation here!”
Hovering just above the group, she barely steadied herself. One hand held the halberd, the other swiftly formed hand seals as she launched simultaneous attacks to either side of the street. A massive azure arc and a yellow blade of energy screamed out with ear-piercing force, slamming into the flanking buildings.
Twin explosions rocked the area. Debris flew, and dust billowed in clouds. But Gong Chenying’s brows furrowed. The backlash she felt told her something was very wrong.
Despite the powerful spells, the attacks could not penetrate beyond the buildings. It was as if behind the façades lay walls of reinforced steel that bounced the force right back.
She had originally hoped to lead everyone off the street and find another way forward. But judging by this reaction, the area seemed to be sealed, restricting their movements to this single path.
Could it be… they had no choice but to fight their way down this street?
(Chapter End)